CHAPTER 1364: CHAPTER 1316: WIELDING A THREE-FOOT SWORD, ACHIEVING UNPARALLELED MERIT

Guann Hai was also working diligently on Yiizhou, training many veteran soldiers from the former Cao Army as a Guard Unit, and smelting a large amount of Copper Ingots. But to be honest, Guann Hai really didn’t want to stay on Yiizhou any longer, it was truly too boring.

Although Gan Ning and Taishi Ci visited once every few months to update him on recent events, it couldn’t alleviate Guann Hai’s worries. He genuinely wanted to see how his brothers from the past were doing, rather than just hearing about it from others.

Ever since he chose death to preserve all the Yellow Turbans, Guann Hai’s perspective on problems had changed significantly. At the very least, he knew the importance of prioritizing and had clarity of mind.

"Fighting with Foreign Clans, huh? Can I return once, then? I want to see Mount Tai, look at Qingzhou." Guann Hai’s voice was slightly low.

"With your strength, as long as you’re careful, you won’t be exposed. You can go see for yourself then. In two more years, you’ll be able to reveal yourself to the world." Gan Ning, being clever, naturally understood Guann Hai’s purpose, so he said with a smile.

Guann Hai was noticeably more at ease after hearing this. Although he knew Liu Bei was benevolent, not seeing him for so long made him uncertain if Liu Bei had changed. Gan Ning had told him that now Liu Bei had defeated Yuan Shao from the North and had taken the wealthiest parts of the land.

"So should I accompany both of you to the South Blue now, or wait here for your return?" Guann Hai rubbed his hands and asked. Hearing that he could visit his brothers from the past, even though they couldn’t see him, made him quite happy.

"No need. I and Ziyi can handle the South Blue. We’ll leave Zifang and Wen Xiang here. When we came this time, we brought the Seed Coin and plan to mint them directly into Five Coin Money here." Gan Ning waved his hand to dismiss Guann Hai; he and Taishi Ci were heading out for spices this time.

On some islands in the South, spices grew abundantly like grass. Last year, when they went to Luzon, they transported several ships full back to Mount Tai, and the Lul Family Shipyard was building Sea Ships day and night because Gan Ning was investing heavily in it.

If it weren’t for this spice money, even those tens of millions of funds allocated by Chen Xi to Gan Ning would only be enough to launch one or two big sea ships, and after that, they might have to buy on credit.

One could say the most carefree now was Gan Ning, the Naval Chief, who had money, ships, and people at hand, and the financial resources were never a problem, even beginning to repay the Central Government now.

Of course, this was largely thanks to Mi Fang managing all the logistics. Had it been someone else, Gan Ning, as an armchair general, might have embezzled most of the military funds. But now, not only were warships being launched like dumplings into the sea, but Mi Fang could also allocate funds to support the economy along Qingzhou’s coast.

The Mi Family, who had never suffered disasters, didn’t understand what it meant to be short on money. Naturally, Mi Fang didn’t let the Navy engage in business transactions.

Gan Ning probably felt the combat power difference between the business Navy and the battle Navy was too great, so eventually, he split the Navy: one part solely responsible for combat, while the other, like the Land Forces’ civilians, did odd jobs.

Regarding combat positions, Gan Ning absolutely forbade any ties to commerce. As for Mi Fang, Gan Ning’s role for him was Chief of Logistics; don’t step onto the battlefield, just ensure that whatever the Navy needs is supplied, and when it comes time to divide credit, you won’t be left out.

Mi Fang completed this task very well; when Lu Su didn’t approve resources, Mi Fang directly paid for them. Having a brother with a firm grasp on commerce, he found there was really nothing he couldn’t buy; even forbidden items could be bought in Fenggao with money.

The integrity of merchants sometimes seemed indistinguishable from nonexistence. When it came to selling large quantities of forbidden items like Heavy Crossbows or steel, Chen Xi’s policy was to buy as much as possible internally, but selling outside was a no-go; if someone reported you for smuggling, they would seize your goods.

"Brother Guann, we’ll be relying on you brothers for a while." Mi Fang greeted Guann Hai with a smile after Gan Ning and Taishi Ci had left, deeply admiring this warrior who selflessly gave up his life.

"No problem, come on, I’ll take you to check the Copper Ingots. The place in Luzon is really nice, the quality of the Copper Mine on the whole island is excellent, only need minimal smelting." Over time, having spent much time with a group of Feng Shui Masters, Guann Hai also learned about mining copper.

"Haha, I’ve been to that place once too, the whole island is like one big piece of copper." Mi Fang laughed, "I’ll first have someone bring the molds. Here on Yiizhou, we need to mint three billion of new currency, this time we even found an old craftsman skilled in coin minting."

"Don’t worry, there’s enough Copper Ingots. We’ve stockpiled a large amount of them, and the young and strong in Yiizhou with nothing to do have been smelting the Copper Mine. A lot was shipped over, so by now we’ve accumulated quite a number of Copper Ingots." Guann Hai said, unconcerned.

Truthfully, Guann Hai’s concept of Copper Coin had already faded significantly, impossible not to when one sat amidst piles of money every day; over time, even money became just a number.

At sea, Gan Ning and Taishi Ci were leisurely heading out to sea.

"Xingba, do you have any ambitions?" Taishi Ci suddenly asked while standing at the ship’s side.

"My previous ambition was to traverse the Five Lakes and Four Seas, now that’s achieved. As for future ambitions..." Gan Ning pondered for a moment, "I don’t really have one, but following the advisers around is enough; I always felt that following a smart person’s steps is better than walking alone!"

"Do you have any ambitions?" Gan Ning turned his head to ask Taishi Ci the same question.

"It used to be that a real man holds a sword of three feet and achieves extraordinary feats. Now it’s still the same, only the extraordinary feats seem to get bigger and bigger." Taishi Ci laughed.

"Indeed, the world is vast, and the Central Plains are not the world’s boundary. One day, my warships will stand at another Empire’s dock, using my fleet to blockade the enemy’s entry and exit for the nation behind me." After a moment of silence, Gan Ning said, somewhat fervently.

"Blockade another Empire with warships?" Taishi Ci’s heart was moved.

Since Liu Bei transferred Taishi Ci from the Land Forces to the Marines, he had some resentment, considering the Navy merely an auxiliary force.

Transporting troops or providing supporting fire was fine, but true victory still lay with the Cavalry, the peak troop of the cold weapon era, determining a dynasty’s fate!

But now, Gan Ning’s words interested him, making it seem that the Navy wasn’t as auxiliary as he thought. Blockading another Empire sounded very appealing!

"I’ve decided. I’ll become an excellent Naval General. Xingba, I’ll follow you; don’t let me down!" Taishi Ci suddenly leapt up the mast and laughed loudly as he looked at Gan Ning.

"Of course not, I, Gan Ning, never let my people down." Gan Ning smiled at Taishi Ci, "This guy is really easy to fool. Speaking of the cavalry, can’t they ride horses if the ship is big enough?"